Three Simple Words
by will.you.say.ok
Summary: Three days ago, she told him she loved him, but never gave him the chance to say it back. In response to the ZA Angels Write-off: Ellie's catagory.


**A/N: For the ZA Angels write-off: Ellie's Catagory. I have to apologize, no matter how hard I've tried, I've only seen HSM3 once. So forgive me for not remembering the diologue perfectly. Enjoy!! And in case some people don't know, I changed my name from Say OK grl to ..**

**Disclaimer: Nothing. **

* * *

Sleepless nights and empty days filled Troy's life without Gabriella. It felt so very wrong to be living life without her, not after she had been such a huge part of it for so long.

Slowly the pressures of life were getting to him...he felt suffocated in a way. Gabriella was the only one in his life that could make him forget about the future, and now she was gone.

Sure, they had talked a few times, but it was so empty. There was nothing left to say. Sure, the 'I miss you's' were said, and Troy knew that Gabriella meant it. And though she tried to cover it up at times, Troy could still sense the emptiness in her voice.

Troy needed her, like he needed air to breathe. And though somehow, he was surviving, it still felt like oxygen was missing.

Though they had broken up once before, it had never felt like this. There was a hole; a gap missing inside of him. He _needed _her. How in the world would the two of them survive the huge separation looming in front of them, if they couldn't even survive a week?

Then there was that detail that kept appearing in his mind. When she called to cancel prom, she said something Troy had been waiting for all his life.

Three simple words: I love you.

Never had Gabriella said such a thing, never had she put her strong emotions out in the open like that. After all the millions of goodbyes in her life, she couldn't bear attaching onto someone. Not after her father's death, not after her mother moved her to so many places. At first Gabriella had tried to make friends, but after leaving so many times she couldn't anymore. Until she came to East High.

Troy knew this was a milestone for Gabriella, especially after saying goodbye. Truthfully, he loved her too, maybe even more than his own life.

Somehow, somehow he had to tell her.

A small idea tugged at the corner of his mind...if she couldn't bear to fly to East High for prom, then why couldn't he take prom to her....

* * *

A thousand miles away, Gabriella laid, gazing at the brightly lit night sky around her.

It was 2 AM, and she couldn't sleep, the third night in a row. She missed him. And right now she would give just about anything to feel his strong arms wrapped around her, to hear him whisper sweet nothings into her ear, and to just be.

In other words, she loved him. In fact, she had told him those three words three days ago, and he never responded to them. They had talked, but only about Stanford. The food, her classes, and her roommate. Nothing was said about East High or their relationship. It would just hurt too much.

Why did she let Troy convince her to come to Stanford early? The separation was killing her. She missed him so much that it hurt. Never had goodbyes felt like this.

Thinking these thoughts that she'd tried to hard to push out of her mind before, Gabriella felt a lone tear make it's way down her cheek.

Did he love her too? Did he feel the same way she did at this very moment? Sleepless, sad...alone?

If today was depressing, tomorrow would be earth-shattering. It was prom. The one night where fairytales could come true, where girls could make their fantasies come true if only for one night. It was the night that Gabriella had dreamed about her whole life.

And she was going to miss it. She would miss seeing the prom queen be crowned, and chances were now eliminated that it would possibly be her.

But this was real life. And sometimes fantasies didn't come true.

Why did she bother kidding herself? The goodbyes would never stop coming. First it was her father, the one person that loved her the most. Then it was their house, the one she had grown up in. Her best friends.

She thought this time she was being strong. That she was making the wrong decision. That if she did this, it wouldn't hurt so much. How very wrong she was.

Gabriella's heart was breaking. The wall that she had put up so many years ago had crumbled, and she finally gave someone the key to her heart. She'd never let anyone there before, not since her father.

From this moment on, she needed to build it up again. Gabriella came to Stanford for a reason; for school. Now that she was here, why not throw herself fully into the work and accomplish all that she was capable of? Tomorrow Gabriella would start rebuilding the wall. Hopefully then it wouldn't hurt as much.

* * *

The engine gave a groan the second Troy turned the key.

Would the engine make it to Stanford? Would it make it at all? Troy didn't know, and he didn't care. All that he knew was that he needed to get to Gabriella.

She, he knew, would be heartbroken tomorrow night. But she wouldn't talk about it to anyone. He needed to get to her, he needed to be with her.

Right now it seemed like his entire world was crashing down upon him. The pressures of high school, friends, and the future had laced together, crushing him. Gabriella was the only one in his world that could make him forget that with a single smile.

But now, it was her that needed to be saved. The girl that he heard on the phone wasn't the giddy, happy beauty he knew. It was a stranger, someone depressed and alone.

Her prince was coming, on his white horse. Gabriella always wanted life to be a fairytale, and now hopefully he would make that dream come true tomorrow night.

With the light from the stars shining down on him; rays of hope; Troy drove on into the deep black of the night.

* * *

All day Gabriella had been lost in the bittersweet taste of her dreams. Today, was prom. The day little girls dreamed of, the day that would transform their fantasises into realities.

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. She was supposed to be living her fairytale right now, her Cinderella story. She was almost living flashbacks of her past now, the days before Troy, before East High. Until him, there were only lonely nights with no one to hold her when she was sad. There were only goodbyes, so many that it had scarred her precious heart.

Right now, she was in her final class of the day, chemistry. Though she'd always loved this particular class, today it broke her heart. Gabriella sighed, recalling the times she'd spent with Troy, trying to teach him the basics of chemistry when he just wanted to play. If only....

She awoke from her thoughts with a start, hearing the professor dismiss them. She gathered up her belongings, slowly taking them into her arms. She wasn't ready to go out and face the world just yet.

But somehow Gabriella felt herself entering the brightly lit world, taking her bike and riding back to her dorm.

Until she saw him.

Her prince, her true lover. Her Troy.

He was up in a tree, smiling down at her. And for a moment, all she saw was him, and everything in the world was right.

Her soulmate hopped down from the tree, grinning the biggest grin. "I missed you."

"But how..." Gabriella was at a loss for words.

Troy smiled again, making Gabriella's heart stop. "I honestly don't know how my truck made it. But all I know is that I am here, with you and tonight is prom night."

Seeing the amazement in his girlfriend's eyes, Troy knew his mission had been a success. "Dance with me..."

He swiftly pulled the dark haired beauty into his arms, relishing in the joy that hadn't been his for far too long. The two began to waltz to invisible music, the world just fading away to the two of them.

Troy knew at that moment that his feelings had been exactly right. He wanted Gabriella in his life, and never wanted to see her to get hurt ever again.

The invisible song over, the two stopped for a minute to catch their breath.

Gabriella smiled up at her prince, but was hushed by a finger against her lips. "Gabby...there's a surprise for you in my truck."

What more could there be? Gabriella giddily followed Troy, eager for another surprise.

It was beautiful. Holding the silky black fabric to her face, Gabriella breathed in the sweet scent.

"Troy...you didn't. My prom dress..."

He laughed, holding up his hands for protection. "Hey, I couldn't let you have a prom without a dress, right? Now head back to your dorm to get ready and I'll meet you here in two hours."

Her heart was still adjusting to the fact that he was actually here, with her, and she literally had to drag herself away, but not before a gentle kiss.

Floating on air, she made her way back to the dorm.

* * *

When she saw him again, the stars had made their way into the perfect sky.

There had been lights hung in the treetops, and twinkling lanterns winked at them. But the sight that made Gabriella's world stop spinning was the man who created all of this. Troy.

Fighting against the strong urge to throw herself into his arms, she walked toward him, her eyes dancing with happiness.

"You amaze me Wildcat," she said, giving him a hug. His hands traveled up and down her back, giving her chills. Troy reached down and kissed her.

It was perfect, with more passion than could be imagined. All she needed, she had at her fingertips, and it wouldn't be snatched from her again.

Back at East High, the Wildcats were gearing up for the prom. It would be a night to remember, but Gabriella wouldn't want to be anywhere else but there at that moment.

The kiss ended, but magic still danced in the treetops around them.

Troy took a deep breath. It was time.

Taking her hand in his, he gazed into her perfect brown orbs.

"Gabriella Anne Montez," he began. "As cheesy as this sounds, I knew that you were mine from the second I saw you on New Year's Eve, and that was only confirmed when I saw you at East High. Together, we conquered high school, and we conquered distance. Honestly, I never thought I'd meet someone as perfect as you, but I did. And this past week I realized something important: I need you in my life. I'm not asking you to marry me, but someday, will you forever be mine?"

His shaking hands brought up a ring, sparkling in the moonlight.

Words formed in Gabriella's mind, but her mouth couldn't form them. Was this just a dream? Was it all to good to be true?

"Troy...if I said yes, I don't think I could take what would happen when you left..." Her words trailed off, leaving the unfinished sentence hanging in midair.

Despite the darkness, the quiet, sad look in her eyes was still visible.

She started to turn, to flee, but an outreached hand stopped her.

"Gabby...I'm not going to Arizona. I'm going to Berkley. For you."

Disbelief shone in her eyes as the words sank in. "But...what about your dream?"

"My dream is right here in front of me," he explained, holding Gabriella close and stroking her hair.

Puzzled, she looked up at him.

"Gabby...what I'm saying is that without you by my side, I'd never be happy. Not even playing NBA basketball. Besides, they also offered me a drama scholarship."

Snuggling into his chest, she remembered all that they had been through together. She shyly held out her hand for the ring, something she would display with pleasure and pride, something she wouldn't take off until the real thing.

A smile unlike no other spread across Troy's face.

"I love you Troy."

Those three simple words gave him a joy that was unimaginable.

"I love you too Gabriella."

With the light of the stars smiling down upon them, the two knew that whatever the future would bring, it would never seperate them. Someday, high school and college would be in the past, but their love never would be.

And together, bonded by three simple words, they would live their happy ending together.

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**I hope you enjoyed it! Now go review!! :P lol**


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